Frequency of Dominant Frames in Talk Africa
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How the Introduction of CGTN is popularizing the growing African continent through positive reporting A Case Study of China Global Television Network in Nairobi, Kenya By Habiba Sule B.A., (Social Sciences), Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya, 2014 Diploma in Social Work, University of The Gambia, 2010 Extended Essays Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication (Dual Degree Program in Global Communication) Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Habiba Sule 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Benedicta Habiba Sule Degree: Master of Arts Title: How the introduction of CGTN is popularizing the growing African continent through positive reporting: A Case study of China Global Television Network in Nairobi, Kenya Program Co-Directors: Yuezhi Zhao, Adel Iskandar Peter Chow-White Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Adel Iskandar Program Director Assistant Professor Date Approved: August 21, 2018 ii Abstract Africa is full of mixed stories about desperation, lost and despair, and when young Africans offer an alternative narrative; they often are challenged to defend themselves. Most people like to think of Africa as a sum of its problems and the problem with this is it has created a single story that has created one perspective of Africa, which we have allowed to be told about us as if it is the only perspective of Africa. The problem with this is if the only stories about us are desperation, lost, diseases and despair then how can we image anything better than that? Over time, there has been an outcry and a desire for an alternative media to broadcast African stories positively, and from the African perspective. The desire to ‘own the African story’ created an opportunity for the Chinese national broadcaster CCTV to launch its brand CCTV Africa in the continent. The network was later rebranded into what is now called China Global Television Network Africa (CGTN). With its African production center based in Nairobi, Kenya, CGTN Africa aims to report Africa stories to the African audiences and the rest of the world. This case study employs qualitative analysis of Talk Africa, one of the shows aired on CGTN featuring African stories to find out how the introduction of the CGTN Africa has popularized the African continent through positive reporting. In the analysis, the framing styles used in the show, effects, content, and the reporting tones are analyzed to determine the research findings and conclusions. Keywords: Talk Africa; Positive Reporting; China-Africa iii Dedication “I hereby declare this research to my family for their unconditional support and prayers.” iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the individuals who offered assistance towards the success of this research work. Notable among them was my mother Dr. Mary S.E. Tapgun, my father Dr. Moses N. Tapgun, Josephine and David my siblings and my grandmother who always prays for me endlessly. My utmost gratitude goes to my supervisor Professor Peter Chow-White whose professional expertise, patience and advice made this research intellectually stimulating to work on. Credit goes to him for seeing this work this far. v Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures................................................................................................................. ix List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................... 2 1.2 Main Objective .......................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Specific Objectives .............................................................................................. 5 1.3 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 7 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Pan African Media ..................................................................................................... 7 2.2 The Journey of CCTV Africa ...................................................................................... 8 2.3 China – Africa Media Relations ................................................................................. 9 2.4 China’s Public Diplomacy and Soft Power ............................................................... 10 2.5 The Forum for Africa China Cooperation ................................................................. 11 2.6 Chinese Investments in Africa ................................................................................. 12 2.7 Positive/Constructive Reporting ............................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 16 3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 16 3.1 Philosophical Paradigm ........................................................................................... 16 3.1.1Ontology ............................................................................................................ 16 3.1.2 Epistemology ........................................................................................................ 16 3.2 Research Approach ................................................................................................. 17 3. 3 Research Method ................................................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Case Study ....................................................................................................... 17 3.4 Population and Sampling ......................................................................................... 17 3.5 Sample Selection and Size ...................................................................................... 18 3.6 Content Analysis ..................................................................................................... 18 3.7 Frame Analysis ....................................................................................................... 19 3.8 Data Presentation .................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION, AND INTEPRATATION .............. 20 4.0 Overview ................................................................................................................. 20 vi 4.1 Frame Analysis ....................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Source Analysis....................................................................................................... 22 4.3 Tone Analysis .......................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMENDATIONS 27 5.0 Overview ................................................................................................................. 27 5.1 Summary of Findings .............................................................................................. 27 5.1.1 Key frames in Talk Africa ...................................................................................... 27 5.1.2 Key information sources ....................................................................................... 27 5.1.3 Tone of reporting............................................................................................... 27 5.2 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 28 5.3 Recommendations .................................................................................................. 28 References ..................................................................................................................